13 Famous Writers on Overcoming Writer’s Block

It’s the first weekend of November, and for all you aspiring writers out there, that might just mean that you’re flexing your fingers for your first crack at this year’s NaNoWriMo (that’s National Novel Writing Month). The philosophy behind NaNoWriMo is pretty simple: get the words — 50,000 of them, to be exact — on the page. But what if you experience that dreaded writer’s block while you’re chipping away at your “Great Frantic Novel”? Never fear, you’re not alone. After the jump, take comfort in the words of thirteen famous writers who’ve been there, done that — and add your own words of encouragement in the comments!

“What I try to do is write. I may write for two weeks ‘the cat sat on the mat, that is that, not a rat.’ And it might be just the most boring and awful stuff. But I try. When I’m writing, I write. And then it’s as if the muse is convinced that I’m serious and says, ‘Okay. Okay. I’ll come.’” — Maya Angelou

in absence of muse one better invent one! Our world is full of them, and about the same plethora of ideas one can write and find new ones, and they will be better or worse but they will be in written form, and they will say something to someone, so put them out, being what you keep in your trash, being what you never thought you could feel, but never forget to love deeply the meaning of what those words will say